Boiled Frog Theory

Mr Simen reminded the school about the importance to gather quickly at assembly session and that there were a minority who were either:

a. Too unconcerned about starting the day well and doing the small things well.
b. Those who just simply didn't care.

He then demonstrated how students should get ready quickly for the assembly with Mr Faizan and told a real interesting parable of the boiled frog

The boiling frog story states that a frog can be boiled alive if the water is heated slowly enough — it is said that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will never jump out.
The story is generally told in a figurative context, with the upshot being that people should make themselves aware of gradual change and aware of its surroundings. They should gravitate towards school as an organization otherwise in the future they would be a jeopardy to others and to themselves.

Passing on of our School Canteen Operator, Mr Daniel Hoe

On 22 July, a special assembly and announcement was made in the hall by Mr Simen about the passing on of our school canteen operator,Mr Daniel Hoe. He was popularly known to us as Uncle Daniel.

On the 21st of July, Monday 7pm++ He passed away in Hospital because of cardiac arrest. Here are some excerpts we were able to gather from our student blogs:

"I left school around 4.45pm and I can't believe he passed away. He was a healthy and active man. As a person,he was ever so cheerful,and never failed to greet us with a smile when we purchase drinks from him. He was a person with a generous heart,and a charitable spirit. This year, as with so many of our years, he had even donated to us coconuts to be sold by my class at the Youth and Racial Harmony day Funfair"

"I remember he was very helpful,and offered much assitance when i went with a few classmates to get the drinks and coconuts from him..He even lend us a big bucket to put the drinks..Not forgetting the ice that we use during the Funfair was kindly donated by him."

"I remember his selfless acts,staying back till 5 plus everyday to sell drinks to us because we have late lessons.He never complained when he had to walk all the way from the vending machine back to his stall,just to sell us a bottle of drink,or just a cup of drink...He would just cheerfully ask us "Yes,Ah boy?What do you want?"
He would also ocasionally chat with the students..I remember he helped us a lot during our choir camp,regarding the food and stuff."

"I guess The student body on the whole respect him a lot.During recess,if there were to be quarrels or scuffles in the canteen,he would always be the first one to step in to break up the feuding ones because he is there all the time.I admire his bravery."

" Uncle daniel was a Nice man,with a generous and charitable heart.His bravery and charitable spirit shall always be remembered.To His Family,My deepest condolencesm"

- Daren Ng

Being the Punctual Gentleman

Mr Simen emphasized the need to be punctual and to be in sync with what being a gentleman is about. He emphasized that it was important to 'wake up the giant' and not to be the dwarf because it was observed that some students did not move with urgency and promptness to the assembly courtyard when the signature tune was played.

Sporting Achievements Update

Goh Shao Jie of 4A1 did the school proud by clinching 1 Gold and 1 Silver medals at the recently completed National Inter-School Canoeing Championships (C1-1000m and C1-500m category). This is definitely a well-deserved reward after gruelling hours of training!


The 'C' Division Rugby team has completed the qualifying stages in the National Inter-School Rugby Tournament and came in overall second in their group. They are now in the Cup Category Quarter-Finals, being grouped together with RI, Pioneer and ACS (Barker). Let's wish them well for their first game this Thursday.

The 'C' Division Softball team has also completed the qualifying stages in the National Inter-School Softball Tournament and came in tops in their group. They are now in the quarter-finals stage, with strong possibility of getting into the semi-finals. We wish them all the best too!

Olympic Day Run

A group of rugby and softball players went for the Olympic Day Run last Saturday morning, 12 July at West Coast Park. It was an enjoyable non-competitive 3km run. They enjoyed themselves, mingling with 3500 runners from schools and organisations such as Singapore Sports Council, Macdonald's, Montfort Junior School and North Vista Secondary School.

2 July - NCC Day

Montfort School celebrated NCC Day on 2 July. All decked out in green, the NCC formation snapped to attention and loudly affirmed their loyalty to the nation by singing the national anthem with gusto. They took a pledge to the nation and to their corps with the kind of bravado and courage that Olde George Patton would have been proud of. They so amazed the school with their spirit that many of our fellow Montfortians could only watch and gawk with awe-inspiring admiration.

3 July - Visit By Jakarta School, SMK 105




All decked out in their colourful and groovy batik-style uniforms, 40 students from SMA (Sekolah Menengah Pertama) 105 from Jakarta visited Montfort Secondary School.

They were hosted by Mr Edmund Lim and Mr Faizan. Student counsellors and our Indonesian badminton students brought them around the school.

Their program included morning lessson with us and also a joint morning workout with us. It was a real good 'sweat-out' with out Indonesian counterparts. Even the girls joined in and put many of our Montfort students to shame with their fitness and discipline! The picture above shows them at our assembly in the school field.